A Sacrilegious Meeting
by Erin Kamikaze
Summary: Ino is stranded in a cathedral at night and meets an interesting man, who refuses to state his purpose.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Ino sprinted through the torrential downpour, feet squishing in the sodden, muddy terrain. It was nighttime, and the sky was dark, hiding the clouds. No moon shone as Ino headed towards her destination: Unmei Cathedral.

She had heard about the cathedral from Sakura and had always wanted to go. The famous building was located in a remote corner of Fire Country, attracting thousands of tourists despite its location. A mission had brought her there, and she wasn't one to let a chance pass her by. Ino had originally planned to go with her team, but they had been recalled on a "troublesome errand", as Shikamaru had put it. That left her to run through the rain alone, wet and miserable, but with a firm purpose in mind.

Unmei Cathedral loomed in the distance. Even from afar, Ino could see ornate doors and the beautiful rose window which was the pride of the cathedral. As she came closer, she could see raindrops running down the glass like tears. She grimaced. _Shit._ The way the rain was falling, she was going to have to spend the night.

As soon as Ino reached the doors, she threw them open and dashed inside. They boomed behind her, as if sealing her fate. The interior of the cathedral was as spectacular and decorated as the outside, and she was awed by its majesty. She walked down the aisle, trying not to drip too much water on the plush red carpet. "Beautiful," she breathed. This was definitely worth the trip through the rain. Ino placed her pack on a pew and collapsed, tired from running. She leaned back and closed her eyes. _Better get some sleep now so I can sightsee in the morning_, she thought. That's when she heard the noise.

It was a soft metallic clinking sound that seemed to reverberate ominously against the lofty ceiling of the cathedral. Ino sat straight up, heart pounding a mile a minute. She had thought she was alone, but the noise begged to differ. She stood, hand on her shuriken pouch. The noise seemed to come from behind the altar. She crept towards it cautiously, ready for an altercation. When Ino reached it, she drew up short, staring.

Behind the altar, bending over, was a masked man. He was tall and burly, wearing a large cloak with a pattern that Ino couldn't make out in the dark. His mask covered most of his face except the area around his eyes, which glared angrily at her as she stared. Eyes that had red scalera and green irises, minus the pupils. _He looks dangerous__**, **_she thought, and for some reason that thrilled her.

"Hello!" Ino said brightly. "Rough night out, huh?"

"Shut up," the man said. She bristled.

"No need to be rude," she said angrily. The man ignored her. Ino then noticed what he was doing. At his feet was a pile of objects that he was sorting through. She couldn't make out anything but the occasional glint of gold. She craned her head curiously and the man stepped in front of the pile defensively.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"None of your business," the man said, which only served to increase her curiosity.

"So, do you live near here?" She asked. The man sighed as if in resignation.

"No," was his curt reply. Ino smiled in triumph. She had finally broken the ice!

"I don't either. A friend of mine told me about this place. Nice, isn't it?"

There was a pause. "It's a waste of money." Ino frowned. _It's fancy, but definitely not a waste of money._ This man obviously had no appreciation of beauty. It seemed like a sad way to be.

"Well, the cathedral's beautiful, so people come here to enjoy it. There's also history here," She said in a superior tone of voice. "It was made almost five hundred years ago. That's practically forev-"

"Nothing lasts forever. Except money. Remember that." With that said, the man returned to his sorting. Ino tried to initiate another conversation, but the man seemed hell bent on ignoring her. She became frustrated. _Nobody ignores me!_ She thought irritably, and started badly humming a high pitched and annoying song. At first, the man ignored her. After a minute, he started muttering to himself under his breath. Finally, he snapped.

"Shut up," he barked. Ino smirked at him.

"Ignoring me won't work," she informed him knowingly. The man looked like he was torn between proving her wrong and ripping her head off. He glared at her for a moment, before turning back to his work.

"I will not play childish games with you." Ino sighed. Then she shivered. While talking to the man, Ino hadn't realized how cold she was. A lecture given by Sakura came to mind. "Never let yourself be wet and cold for too long, or you'll get hypothermia." _Stupid forehead,_ Ino thought, but knew her pink-haired friend was right. She stood up, and then yelped as she tripped on the carpet, crashing to the ground. The man looked on as Ino yelled every obscenity that came to mind while nursing a twisted ankle. She was supposed to be a _kunoichi, _for Kami's sake! Good thing no one was there to watch her rather ungraceful fall. Except the man, who had by that point walked over to Ino. He glowered at her before retrieving her pack by the doors of the church. "Sit," he ordered, handing her the pack. She quietly thanked him and sat on the pew, a bit embarrassed.

A quick diagnostic of her ankle revealed nothing a bit of healing couldn't fix. But that could wait for the morning, after she slept. After all, her ankle might right itself during the night. There was no need to waste chakra on an injury that might not need it.

Ino lay down on the pew and tried to relax. It was then she became aware of how annoying her wet hair was. The long bang was right on her eye and as Ino tried to move it, the stubborn length of hair resisted. She tried again and got the same result. _I will not admit defeat,_ she thought stubbornly. She proceeded to yank back her bang. When she finally thought she had got it, the bang fell back in place. Ino cried in indignation before hearing a soft chuckle.

She looked at the man incredulously. Not only was he laughing at her, but he actually had the ability to laugh? Ino glared sullenly at the man. "It's not funny," she whined. The man just shook his head. She smiled slightly, lying back down. Lulled by the clinking noise, she fell asleep. When she woke, the man was gone. Ino was alone.

Testing out her ankle, Ino was pleased to find it healed. _No wasted chakra, then. _She proceeded to walk around the cathedral. What was dark and mysterious the night before had become mundane and well-lit. The sun shined through the rose glass window and Ino was surprised to find she enjoyed it more the night before, even with the strange company. She wondered who the man was. It was odd to be alone in a cathedral at night, with an unnamed purpose. As she pondered this, she became aware of two things: her bang was out of her eye, and there was a strange weight at the side of her head. She put her hand up to her head, wondering what the weight was, and was startled by what she pulled down.

A large gold hairpin sat nestled in her hand, adorned by a sapphire the size of an olive. Ino stared at it in shock. _What the-_, she thought confused, and then looked to where the man was. Behind the altar was a large pile of jewelry and artifacts, shining gold and silver in the light. It was sorted into piles by metal and gemstone. There were only semi-precious stones left, none of the rare precious ones like the sapphire in the hairpin. _He must have taken those,_ Ino thought, amazed by his audacity. Unmei Cathedral was a national and historic landmark, and soon shinobi would be sent out after the thief.

She placed the hairpin back in her hair and walked down the aisle. As she stepped outside the cathedral, Ino smiled. Maybe her team would be given the retrieval mission. She wouldn't mind meeting the man again, this time by the light of the day.

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